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NEMA 14-50 home charging advice
- Thread starter MHS_MY
- Start date
I am a bit confused here. I have always considered that HVAC loads are continuous since they are on for 3 or more hours at a time.
Can you quote the NEC section you are referring to which says they are not continuous?
Huh. That's an interesting question. It seems they generally are considered continuous loads, but because that is known, the equipment documentation always has a value on it called MCA (minimum circuit amps) that already has the 125% capacity built into it.
HVAC Design Load
if the MCA is used to determine the actual load of the HVAC, in this case the MCA 38 amps, a 40 amp breaker will not suffice, unless i am missing something here. The MCA figure already includes the 125% of largest motor safety factor. Also the motors are very unlikely to draw their FLA. Thus...
forums.mikeholt.com
I wasn't referring to a code section. I am sure it is considered continuous.
@pepperoni referred to the code in his post which was either a joke, an example, an analogy or as he suggested, the best example. Others suggested that an A/C was not a good example to compare to charger for various reasons. The discussion just out of hand and I probably threw gas on the flames.
Especially recent combination fan motor compressor HVAC of the residential size this is true. Older and larger units did not have this labeling.
HVAC, like motors live in their own NEC world.
Maybe not in California… but in Texas and arazona and the entire SE they are. They are considered a continuous load.
Yes it does. And AC manufactures already calculate the 125 percent rule into their wire and breaker sizing requirements.
davewill
Active Member
Mateo83
Active Member
I'm looking at a new house with 14-50 already wired to a separate meter. We have 6-50 currently, according to the telsa site it charges at the same rate.
Yes, both have the same 50amps, the difference is 6-50 does not have a neutral wire. Tesla does not need a neutral.
sleepydoc
Well-Known Member
It’s not rocket science but here is definitely a fair amount of knowledge involved. That’s what you pay an electrician for - their knowledge and experience. I won’t say that a homeowner can’t wire an EV outlet safely but I would never say that the ‘average homeowner’ can do it safely, either.
I agree. I was unaware that GFCI breakers were required or available until I read some posts here. I just ordered one to bring my earlier install into compliance. Also another piece of advice was to hardwire a Wall Connector at another location because the cost was similar to that of a mobile connector plus GFCI breaker and high end 14-50 receptacle.
The Hubbell and Bryant outlets have v shaped wire clamps which hold the wire much tighter than the screw or flat plate of the cheaper ones. They tighten with Allen wrenches as tight as you can.
Good to know. I use ferrules with stranded wire and the Leviton receptacle had a socket for a square drive which gave me more purchase than a Philips driver. Next time I will invest in a Hubble.
For anyone doing it yourself the best way to avoid any problems is to pull permits for your work. They (the county) will make sure your doing it properly and inspect it afterwards. The permit will also be on file in your county. That way if you ever have to sell the property or have an insurance claim there is a record of the work being properly permitted.
If something is off with your planned install the county should let you know before hand. With their approval of your plans you do the install properly and then they inspect and give final approval when its complete.
it does cost a little extra and some counties may require you to take a short class if you aren't a licensed electrician.
If something is off with your planned install the county should let you know before hand. With their approval of your plans you do the install properly and then they inspect and give final approval when its complete.
it does cost a little extra and some counties may require you to take a short class if you aren't a licensed electrician.
Hello,
I am looking for a wall-mounted outside enclosure that can accommodate a Hubell 14-50 HBL9450A outlet. I would prefer it to be black and as slim as possible. Because of location slim is more important than black, as I can always spray paint... Any recommendations?
I am looking at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PTHFZVX and Amazon.com but there are some comments that they don't work with HBL9450A.
While we are at it, I am also looking for a 60A disconnect that will be mounted in a location protected from the elements, and the major concern (other than functionality) is aesthetics. So slimmest possible and not too industrial looking... Any recommendations better than this one on Amazon? Feel free to PM me if you don't want to clutter the thread...
Thanks in advance!
I am looking for a wall-mounted outside enclosure that can accommodate a Hubell 14-50 HBL9450A outlet. I would prefer it to be black and as slim as possible. Because of location slim is more important than black, as I can always spray paint... Any recommendations?
I am looking at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PTHFZVX and Amazon.com but there are some comments that they don't work with HBL9450A.
While we are at it, I am also looking for a 60A disconnect that will be mounted in a location protected from the elements, and the major concern (other than functionality) is aesthetics. So slimmest possible and not too industrial looking... Any recommendations better than this one on Amazon? Feel free to PM me if you don't want to clutter the thread...
Thanks in advance!
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Why have the disconnect? When there is a plug and a receptacle those items satisfy any requirement for electrical equipment service disconnect.
The Tesla Wall Connector is slim, arguably more attractive and would be a better alternative than a 14-50R with a weather enclosure for an outdoor installation. (You can set the Wall Connector to only recognize, enable charging of specific Tesla vehicle VINs.) The Tesla Gen3 Wall Connector installation manual states that a service disconnect is not required. The Gen3 Wall Connector can be configured to work on a 240V circuit rated from 15A up to 60A.
The Tesla Wall Connector is slim, arguably more attractive and would be a better alternative than a 14-50R with a weather enclosure for an outdoor installation. (You can set the Wall Connector to only recognize, enable charging of specific Tesla vehicle VINs.) The Tesla Gen3 Wall Connector installation manual states that a service disconnect is not required. The Gen3 Wall Connector can be configured to work on a 240V circuit rated from 15A up to 60A.
davewill
Active Member
That's not too surprising. A number of people have had to replace their outlet boxes with bigger ones when upgrading from the cheaper Leviton to the Hubbell.
The use case here is that the outlet will be outside a garage door opening to a city sidewalk (so that the car can be charged when parked in front of the garage). The disconnect will be in a protected and locked area so that I don't have to go all the way to the electrical panel to turn power on/off.
It would be great if I could make the Gen3 connector work, but I am worried that someone could pull it from the wall (this is New York City), especially with a live 60 amp line without disconnect... I could put the connector in a protective box, but these boxes are big as they need to enclose the cable, and I don't have the space.
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